| Introducing the External Argument into the Event Structure |
| Paper ID : 1080-ICIL |
| Authors |
|
Yadgar Karimi * Department of English and Linguistics
Faculty of Literature and Foreign Languages
University of Kurdistan
Sanandaj 6617715175 |
| Abstract |
| With the advent of the compositional views of argument structure, the verb no longer plays the central role it did in GB-era lexicalist views. Specifically, in current decompositional views of argument structure, the traditional verbal arguments are introduced into the structure through a set of dedicated functional heads, the semantic import of which determines the theta-role of each argument. As for the introduction of the external argument, two divergent views emerge in the decompositional camp. According to one approach, external arguments are merged into the structure through the mediary of a causative vº; since the presence of an external argument is correlated with the causation event. On the other hand, there is a second approach according to which external arguments and causation of an event have to be structurally severed. An external argument is introduced by a voice head; whereas causation is forced by vº. This paper is an attempt to provide new evidence from the composition of passive and unaccusative (anti-causative) verbal complexes, where one and the same morpheme –ya/-ye constructs the relevant stems, in Central Kurdish, corroborating the second approach to the introduction of external arguments, according to which voiceº and vº have to be considered separate heads, with distinct semantic imports. |
| Keywords |
| argument structure, passive, anti-causative, external argument, voice head |
| Status: Accepted |